How To Be Sick is about living
skillfully with the challenges of any chronic illness or condition. I
wrote it for sufferers and for their caregivers (the latter includes
people involved in hospice, chaplaincy, and elder care); for those
interested in chronic illnesses and conditions (health professionals,
family and friends); and for people interested in Buddhism (illness can
function as a metaphor for suffering which, along with the cessation
of suffering, is at the heart of the Buddha’s teaching).

Chronic illnesses or conditions – such as
arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes (three among dozens) – while not
immediately life-threatening, are life-disrupting and stressful. The
book is unique in that each chapter contains easy-to-learn tools and
practices to help the chronically ill and their caregivers live
skillfully, maintain equanimity, and even find joy despite the profound
changes in their lives. A recurring theme in the book is that,
although one’s body may be sick, one’s mind can be at peace.

Some of the practices presented are
traditionally Buddhist. Others I devised after becoming ill. Two are
from the work of Byron Katie. Each practice is illustrated with
examples from my own experience, so the book is also highly personal.

The practices are intended to help with the following types of challenges:

• Suffering due to the relentlessness of physical symptoms;
• Blaming oneself for being sick;
• Cursory or dismissive treatment by doctors and medical professionals;
• The inability to visit with friends, participate in family gatherings, and take part in other social events;
• Feeling ignored by family or friends;
• Suffering due to uncertainty about the future;
• Coping with the disappointment of failed treatments;
• Caretaker burnout.

At the end of the book is a handy
reference guide, summarizing the specific tools and practices that can
help with each of the above challenges.

How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers (Paperback)

By Toni Bernhard, Sylvia Boorstein

ISBN-13: 9780861716265
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Wisdom Publications, 9/2010

Other Editions of this Title

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